Tears for Fears back trying to rule pop world

Hearing singer-songwriter Gary Jules' cover of "Mad World" -- recorded by Tears for Fears in 1982 -- might have sent some TFF fans running for the hills with their hands over their ears.

One person who wouldn't have joined them: Curt Smith, one half of the duo that founded Tears For Fears, the 1980s synth-pop superstars famous for songs like "Everybody Wants To Rule The World."

"I love it," Smith said of the Jules version of "Mad World," which appeared originally on "The Hurting," Tears For Fears first album. "I think it was much better than the version we did."

But Smith's admiration for the song has its limits. For example, he dismisses the suggestion that its popularity fueled the current Tears For Fears reunion, complete with the first album by the band's original lineup in 15 years, and a tour that will bring them to the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City on Friday.

"By the time "Mad World' started taking off, we'd almost finished the album," Smith said, speaking by phone from Los Angeles, as the band prepared for its tour.

A bit of history: Jules recorded his cover of "Mad World' in the late 1990s and put it on his album, "Trading Snake Oil For Wolftickets."

In 2001, the song made its way to "Donnie Darko," a black comedy/sci-fi/coming-of-age movie that's since become a cult classic. British teenagers went nuts for the film and the song, and by Christmas of 2003, it was the No. 1 single in the U.K., getting

considerable airplay

on U.S. modern rock stations as well.

But while all of that was happening, Smith said, he and Tears For Fears co-founder Roland Orzabal were busy mending the rift that had opened between them after recording "Sowing The Seeds Of Love" in 1989.

According to the band's press kit, Smith split with Orzabal following a concert in 1990. "My leaving was driven by pure unhappiness. I wasn't doing anything for me anymore," he said.

Orzabal stayed on, releasing three more Tears For Fears albums before going into semi-retirement in 1999. Smith moved to New York City, made a solo album, and began playing clubs.

"I used to walk to the gigs, play, and walk home," he said.

Although they weren't playing together, Smith and Orzabal kept in touch. Soon, the rift began to heal.

"We basically just started talking to each other because we had to," Smith said, because he and Orzabal have business interests together. And the more they talked, the easier it was to talk to each other. They kept trying out pieces of music they had written, and wound up in the studio. The result was "Everybody Loves A Happy Ending," their first collaboration in 15 years.

They seem to continue a trend this year: "comeback" albums by British artists -- The Cure, Morrissey -- that while not classics, are solid, respectable efforts. But people expecting a trip back to the '80s might be disappointed.

The band's goal here seems to be stripped-down, Beatles-ish pop rather than new wave, with the band recording songs with vintage instruments, Smith said. He said the Beatles influence is definitely there, but said a lot of other artists, old and new, went into the mix.

"There are parts of the album where I can hear [the French electronica duo] Air. There are parts that I can hear Led Zeppelin," Smith said. "I can hear a little bit of the Flaming Lips."

As for the tour, Smith said he's confident the band isn't rusty despite its time out of the limelight.

"We are much better than we used to be, just better musicians," Smith said, adding that he was "horrified" listening to some of his earlier playing.

Something else different from the band's early days: Smith no longer adheres to "Primal Scream" therapy, advocated by Arthur Janov. His teachings gave the band their name and a lot of the material that became their first album.

But Smith said while he agrees with some of Janov's ideas, he rejects the theory that children are, in terms of personality, complete blank slates when born.

"I have two kids and they were by no means blank slates," he said. "One is exactly like me, one is exactly like my wife."

But there's more to his disillusionment than that.

"What kind of ruined it was meeting Arthur Janov," Smith said. The doctor asked the band to write a musical based on his therapy.

"And I thought, "God, that is so Californian,"' Smith said derisively. It's safe to say "Primal Scream: The Musical" won't be on Broadway any time soon.